Since 1999 (post-Jordan Era) the NBA Finals have been primarily dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, yet this year both teams are watching the games on TV like the rest of us.
Could this be just a “fluke” year, similar to 2006 when neither the Spurs nor the Lakers made it to the Conference Finals? It doesn’t appear that way.
Experience usually counts for a lot in sports, but there is a fine line between having a lot of experience and being too old. In a fast-paced game such as basketball, fresh legs are key, especially over an 82-game season.
This year’s conference championships have ushered in a new era in the NBA, full of young, hungry, talented teams, eying their places in NBA history.
New Kids on the Block
Even the franchise is new to the city. Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics and now the Thunder, they have only been in Oklahoma City since the 2008 season.
The Thunder are having trouble with the Dallas Mavericks right now, but no matter what, they will have made it to the semi-finals.
The Chicago Bulls have the second youngest starting five in the Conference Finals, with an average age of 26.8 years. Only guard Keith Bogans is over 30 (31). They have 5.2 years of experience between them, which may explain why they are fairing a little better than the Thunder. Not much better; the Bulls trail Miami by two games in their series.
The Miami Heat, with their superstar trio of Wade, Bosh, and LeBron, are also a youthful starting line-up, with an average age of 28.6. Only veteran point guard Mike Bibby is over 30 (33). The starters have an average of 7.2 years in the league, including over 300 postseason starts.
The Heat are one of only three teams other than the Spurs and Lakers to have won a championship in the post-Jordan era.
The Heat dispatched the aging Celtics to reach the semifinals.
The Dallas Mavericks are the only seasoned team remaining in the playoffs. Their starter’s average age is 32.2 and combined for an average 11.6 years in the league. Even with all the experience, the Mavericks have only made it to the finals once (2006), losing to the Miami Heat.
The Mavericks put that experience to good use, sweeping the slightly younger (30.4) Lakers, and are two up on the Thunder—the exception this season
Out With the Old
The Lakers starting lineup at the end of the season had an average age of 30.4 years. The often injured Andrew Bynum is the only Laker under 30 (23). Kobe Bryant has started 208 playoff games, more than the entire Thunder team combined.
The Lakers are like the Yankees of the NBA. They will always sign the best talent, at any cost, to win another championship, because winning championships is what they do. They have found a formula that works well and their 16 NBA Championship banners are proof.
They will (and should) always be considered a playoff contender. Without acquiring some serious young talent, their dominance of the last decade appears to be over.
The Spurs season-ending starting lineup is even older, averaging 32.6 years.
The core three, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili are no longer spring chickens. Tony Parker is the youngest, at 29 years old, with nine seasons in the league. Duncan will start his 14th season next year.
The past two years they have not made the Conference Finals, an indication that their reign is also over.
Change Is Good
The fans are enjoying fresh new faces and a faster pace in the playoffs this year.
According to figures from an ESPN article, the first two rounds of the playoffs averaged almost five million viewers, an increase of over one million viewers per game. Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, between the Heat and the Bulls, was the most-watched NBA game on cable, with 11.1 million viewers. {etRelated 56745)
It was enjoyable to watch the Spurs and Lakers dominate the 2000’s, but this new era of youth is a welcome change.
